Cross Country Teams Set for Patriot League Championships
November 1, 2013 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 1, 2013
Patriot League Championship Central | Running to Compete (BU Today)
The Boston University men's and women's cross country teams will be the first BU programs to compete for a Patriot League title when they head to Easton, Pa., for the 2013 Patriot League Championships on Saturday.
Both squads were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll and each squad will also boast contenders for the men's and women's individual crowns.
Junior Rosa Moriello has won both races in which she entered this season and is one of just two female harriers within the Patriot League that earned two victories in 2013. Moriello is the reigning New England champion and she also won the Ted Owen Invitational. This is her first conference meet since finishing fifth at the 2011 America East Championship.
Senior Monica Adler will compete in her first-ever conference championship after a seventh-place performance at the New England Championships in October, a race she won in 2012. She was the Terriers' top performer in last year's NCAA Northeast Regional.
Adler's classmate, Nikki Long, has a pair of top-five finishes to her name this season, including a third-place performance at the season-opening Nassaney Invitational at Bryant. She finished 21st at the New England Championships and was named Patriot League Female Runner of the Week on Sept. 9.
Rich Peters will be one of the favorites on the men's side, as the senior harrier continues his quest to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second straight season. Peters finished second at the New England Championships, his only race this season.
Sophomore Alec Olson joined Peters as a Patriot League Male Runner of the Week honoree on Sept. 23 after his first collegiate victory at the Ted Owen Invitational. He has a pair of top-10 finishes this season. His classmate, Kevin Thomas, finished sixth in the season-opening Nassaney Invitational and had a top-30 performance at the New England Championships.
Saturday's championship meet will be the last one for both teams until the NCAA Northeast Regional, which will take place at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City on Nov. 15.
